1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to barbecue grills and, more particularly, to a grill cleaning brush having specially formed grill cleaning grooves.
2. Description of the Related Art
One particular appliance that has found popularity in recent times is the table top grill. One example of this type grill is the "George Foreman.TM." grill. These grills allow individuals to cook beef, chicken, vegetables and other food in a fashion that resembles cooking outdoors on a grill. They allow food to remain tasty and juicy while keeping many of the vitamins and nutrients within the food in a very short time. However, some of that time savings is lost due to the increased time it takes to clean such a device. Making matters worse, the "hill and valley" surface of the grill requires almost separate, individual cleaning of each section. In some cases, the grill may not be cleaned adequately enough, leading to safety and health issues the next time it is used to cook something. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which table top grills can be quickly and easily cleaned after use. The development of the grill cleaning brush fulfills this need.
In the related art, there exists utility and design patents for a variety of grill cleaning tools including brushes with scrapers, bristles and forks and the like for cleaning between the grill elements. These devices all have limitations in their effectiveness in cleaning between the grill elements. The art was completely devoid of any grill cleaning devices utilizing a sponge rubber head with integral grill rack cleaning grooves which is very effective in cleaning between grill elements. Nor were there any patents which have grill cleaning utensils specifically designed for grill top table and the like as in the present invention.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention; however, the following references were considered related:
U.S. Pat. No. Inventor Issue Date 5,479,673 Carton Jan. 2, 1996 5,373,600 Stojanovski et al. Dec. 20, 1994 4,146,943 Wertheimer et al. Apr. 3, 1979 4,091,579 Giangiulio May 30, 1978 D 358,491 Hoagland May 23, 1995 D 307,077 Bryant Apr. 10, 1990 4,286,349 Dugrenier Sep. 1, 1981 4,056,863 Gunjian Nov. 8, 1977 5,924,460 Jones Jul. 20, 1999
Consequently, a need has been felt for providing an apparatus specifically for table top grills and the like which is effective in cleaning between the grill elements.